...and the Oscar for Best Actresss goes to.....- Page 2

[Benzy92]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 6:34pm

I saw Diane Keaton the other day in Somethings Gotta Give, and she gives an amazing performance. Definitly deserves to be nominated, if not win.

[Corine2]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 6:38pm

I agree Benzy.
She was incredible. But the non stop crying was a bit much.
I do want her to win.
I also want Jack N to take another.
But I have many movies to see.
Updated On: 12/30/03 at 06:38 PM

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 6:52pm

"We didn't have any The-a-tur in Hot Coffee Mississippi.." Also from BOYS, and so true for many of us, in our Hot Postum, Indiana or Steaming Lipton Minnesota.

I've become more cynical than ever about movies, the big, the bad, and the Miramax-in-December. The "indie spirit" far too often means something made on the cheap that exploits cruelty to human beings in the name of revelation. I'm too old, and every year announce I'd rather stay home and watch "Mildred Pierce" than the artistic work of degredation di giorno. (But I'm not immune to powerful storytelling. I did weep copiously at "House of Sand and Fog" and almost started keening during Kingsley's big scene in the hospital.)

(Waaay OT, vis a vis "Irma Vep": Namo and others, were you a fan of Varla in the mid-90s when she used to do her old show at 88's, now long defnuct? The "lesbian of the week?" I'll never forget those nights. And whassername, Terri White from BARNUM was tendin' bar!

[Unknown User]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 8:49pm

I haven't seen the film so I'm only sharing what I've read on the online movie sites. The general consensus of the posters is to AVOID the Monsters film. Sounds like the critical response to the Sissy Spacek film of a few years back, In The Bedroom. Her performance was lauded but all she did throughout the film was smoke cigarettes and look anguished, and the film was tedious.

Monsters is sounding like a "wait for the video" film, if you're really interested.

Bulldog (who believes this is totally off topic, by the way.)

[broadway86]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 10:14pm

As for "acting" unglamorous and winning an Oscar...

Ellen Burstyn did that to the most disturbing extent in REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (one of the best screen performances in history), and did not win. Instead, Julia Roberts won for playing... Julia Roberts playing Erin Brockovich. I did not feel her character at all.. as opposed to Burstyn, whose performance still moves me to tears.

Nicole Kidman was okay in THE HOURS, but Streep and Moore were much better and had more screen time. In fact, Moore should have won for FAR FROM HEAVEN (the best film of this young century, IMHO).

Charlize Theron was phenomenal in MONSTER. She gave the best performance I have seen all year and should definitely win the Oscar. It's one thing to wear heavy makeup and put on weight for a film: You have to WORK it in order to really impress people.

My film picks for the year (in case anyone is interested):

Best Picture: LOTR Return of the King
Best Director: Sofia Copolla, LOST IN TRANSLATION
Best Actor: Bill Murray, LOST IN TRANSLATION
Best Actress: Charlize Theron, MONSTER
Best Supporting Actor: Tim Robbins, MYSTIC RIVER
Best Supporting Actress: Renee Zellweger, COLD MOUNTAIN
Best Original Screenplay: Sofia Copolla, LIT
Best Adapted Screenplay: Anthony Minghella, CM

[shermanslave]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 10:21pm

Since we are so OT, has anyone else seen The Triplets of Belleville? And we all know that Julia won or her body of work as opposed to her performance in Erin B. Same thing with Nic Kidman. She was not all that in The Hours. Now this year, Renne will probably win for Cold Mountain since she did not win for Chicago.

just to stay on topic a bit, I want to say I love Broadway.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 10:38pm

Loved Triplets--saw it the same day as In America (which is probably my fav film of the year).

As for the Oscars, actors are not eligible to be nominated in the same category--therefore, there will always be 5 actresses up for Best Actress. The buzz is definitely between Theron and Keaton, with Theron currently ahead, but will it be a Spacek vs Berry with Theron losing or a Swank vs Bening with Theron winning?

The actresses with the Oscar buzz according to oscarwatch.com on 12/30/03 (in order with top being most likely to win and so forth):

Charlize Theron, Monster|
Diane Keaton, Something's Gotta Give
Nicole Kidman, Cold Mountain
Uma Thurman, Kill Bill
Hope Davis, American Splendor
Evan Rachel Wood, Thirteen
Cate Blanchett, The Missing
Naomi Watts, 21 Grams
Jennifer Connelly, House of Sand and Fog
Samantha Morton, In America
Gwyneth Paltrow, Sylvia
Diane Lane, Under the Tuscan Sun

=)

[PJ]

Posted: 12/30/03 at 11:19pm

Nicole Kidman should not have won for The Hours. I'm glad she did win last year, but wasn't that impressed with her work. I think the Academy was paying her back for giving the Oscar to Halle Berry (who's performance I thought was not Oscar-worthy)for Monster's Ball the year she was nominated for Moulin Rouge. Nicole should have won Best Actress for Moulin Rouge, not The Hours. Renee Zellweger should have won Best Actress last year for Chicago, so I'm hoping she can snag a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Cold Mountain.

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 8:51am

I would have voted for Nicole last year. I thought she was great in 'The Hours.' Keep in mind I much prefer Renee as an actress so I'm going against my own tastes in that. I don't think Nicole should have won for 'Moulin' because I think the movie was wretched (and, yes, I realize eight zillion theater fans are about to declare me a blasphemer ... again.) If memory serves me (and it very well might not) I think 'Moulin' came out the same year as that ghost flick Nicole did ('The Others?') She was much better in that and it was a better movie (not a great movie, but still better than 'Moulin Rouge.')

If Keaton wins, well, won't that be annoying? Connelly's great and I've heard nothing but raves for Theron and Watts.

Renee will probably win because she's a marvel in 'Cold Mountain.' They went twenty years without giving Al Pacino an award, I don't think the Academy is that concerned about what they 'owe' Renee at this point.

Updated On: 12/31/03 at 08:51 AM

[bongoboy]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 9:12am

auggie,

i love terri white...both the singer/actress and bartender, though i haven't seen her in years. she once got my friend and me so lit on maker's mark at rose's turn, that we were handing out 20 dollar tips to all the cocktail waitress/singers even though we were at the bar. never was the trip up (or crawl up in this case) to my hell's kitchen 5th floor walk up apartment so long.

good times. Updated On: 12/31/03 at 09:12 AM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 10:53am

First, Auggie, thanks for the succinct phrase that I will now incorporate into my vocabulary: "and the Miramax-in-December." I usually spend paragraphs explaining that phenomenon. And THIS made me LOL: "and almost started keening during Kingsley's big scene in the hospital."

And, bway86? With this you went directly to my New Best Friends List: "In fact, Moore should have won for FAR FROM HEAVEN (the best film of this young century, IMHO)."

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 11:03am

Well, please add me to that list--Julianne Moore is long overdue. She has the unfortunate luck to give definitive performances in the same years as folks who are due their lifetime achievement Oscar for Best Actress. =)

[Auggie27]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 11:34am

We continue OT, but it's all about the movies, so why not?

I'm in sync with Bway and Namo about Moore in FAR FROM HEAVEN. You can't compare what she did and Kidman's brief HOURS work. Moore -- playing a basically bewildered, forced-to-be-passive character, carried her film. She couldn't "drive" any scene, but had to incrementally move the story forward, reacting to others. I have continued to marvel at HEAVEN's quiet power, watching the DVD. Also, I think Quaid was pitifully overlooked, failing even to get an Oscar nomination. He was daringly non-PC, and didn't fall prey to the George Hearn syndrome ("Look at me, so courageous for playing a homo!"). I consider HEAVEN sort of A DOLL'S HOUSE filtered through the 50s technicolor prism--so underappreciated, because of the Sirk hommage elements. I am consistently awed by the consistency of tone. It starts thisclose to John Waters turf, but never goes there,never provokes an unwanted laugh. Then there's the Agnes Moorhead-esque work of Patrician Clarkson. Wonderful movie.

Anybody else wowed by Shohreh Aghdashloo in HOUSE OF SAND AND FOG? This is a stunning piece of acting that will likely go unnoticed, since she's Iranian and not even billed. I can't shake her from my psyche. And she barely speaks. She has moments with both Kingsly and Connelly that are lessons in subtext.

[Benzy92]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 11:50am

I agree with PJ completely.. It was Nicole's Oscar the year of Moulin Rouge! Rene should have won for Chicago over Nicole's 30 minutes in The Hours.

[JohnPopa]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 11:51am

Nice post, Auggie.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 12/31/03 at 9:07pm

Auggie--you'll be happy to know that Shohreh Aghdashloo has great buzz going for her despite not getting the Golden Globe nom--hopefully the Oscars will remember.

Dennis Quaid was seriously overlooked last year.

[Lorelai]

Posted: 1/1/04 at 1:11am

"Which will make her the Julianne Moore of 2004. Nominated in leading and supporting, winning neither. Shame."

(sobs) Don't remind me. I will never be *not* upset about that. Two amazing performances.

I actually haven't gotten to see all the films yet. I really do want to catch Diane Keaton in "Something's Gotta Give", I heard she's great (not surprised at all, though) plus "Lost in Translation" and "Cold Mountain" among others. I was hoping to see them this week but I've been home sick

[Phantom2]

Posted: 1/1/04 at 1:16am

bronte604- Great quote from "Chess." My favorite song from the show.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 1/1/04 at 10:23am

Bronte, I'm glad someone else agrees with me. Julianne Moore should have won for Safe, Boogie Nights and Magnolia anyway, so I was willing her to pull off a coup and win both her categories. But I knew it wouldn't happen.

The one thing that is amazing me is the complete lack of recognition for Marcia Gay Harden's quietly devestating and totally masterful performance in Mystic River. She should win every award going for that, but so far I don't think she's even been nominated.

[BwayLover]

Posted: 1/1/04 at 2:14pm

....Adding another name to the "should have won but didn't should win this year to make up for it" list- Charlotte Rampling. I don't know if you saw it, because it was a french movie and thus didn't get a lot of publicity, but Rampling's performance in "Under The Sand" in 2001 should have been nominated for every major award. Heck, she should have WON.
And now, in this summer's "Swimming Pool", she teamed up with "Sand"'s director again, to great effect. Her performance was magnificent, though the material itself was not as strong as "Sand", and I hope that she at least gets a nomination..Though I know the fact that it was released in July has hurt its chances -we all know how short the Academy's memory is.

Oh and btw, I don't agree about Renee Z. - If anything, Julianne Moore should have won over Kidman, but not her. She almost ruined the movie for me ( Just seeing the trailer made me cring -if I had to hear her shreiking "jaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazz" one more time I would have screamed!)

[PJ]

Posted: 1/1/04 at 4:31pm

I really enjoyed Renee's performance. She reminded me of Marilyn Monroe through her nuances and mannerisms during her numbers. Oh well. Everyone's different I suppose.

[Lorelai]

Posted: 1/1/04 at 8:01pm

Just because Julianne Moore was mentioned...I just saw on Access Hollywood that she actually met someone on the streets of NYC who turned out to be a father of a child with this awful disease, I wish I could remember the name and he introduced himself and his son (whom he was walking at the time) to her and asked if she could maybe consider coming to a benefit they were having to raise awareness and she ended up calling him and now is very involved with the family and the charity. She was interviewed and the interviewer said he knew she really isn't into the whole "movie star" thing and she said that's very true and it shouldn't take a "movie star" to bring attention to this type of thing, but if that's what it takes she's willing to use whatever she can to help.
I swear, everytime I see this woman interviewed I respect her even more.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 1/1/04 at 10:47pm

Julianne is an exceptional actress. AN IDEAL HUSBAND, anyone? Yes, THE HOURS. In FAR FROM HEAVEN she was good in a vapid film however that was all style over substance.

I share John's sentiments about MOULIN ROUGE another example of style of substance and Nicole was better in THE OTHERS. In THE HOURS she looked awfully uncomfortable in that false nose puffing on those cigarettes and not doing much else, in my opinion. She was excellent in her earlier film about the young killer--what was that title?

Why does Hollywood believe that smoking endless cigarettes and looking pained in a film is an example of brilliant screen acting?

As for THE HOURS Meryl was tops, along with Ed Harris.

Broadway Bulldog

[ErikJ972]

Posted: 1/1/04 at 11:18pm

. She was excellent in her earlier film about the young killer--what was that title?

Dead Calm

[Lorelai]

Posted: 1/1/04 at 11:22pm

which actress? i think u mean nicole kidman in "to die for"but i'm not sure??